Madrid (AFP) – Spanish football chiefs confirmed the resignation of World Cup and European Championship-winning head coach Vicente del Bosque on Monday. The 65-year-old announced he was to retire on Thursday, after his side had been beaten in the last-16 of Euro 2016 by Italy. Former Real Madrid boss Del Bosque led Spain to the […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – Gareth Bale's Wales have captured imaginations across Europe with their run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals and nowhere are they more popular than in their Dinard base in northwest France. The sleepy Brittany resort town, which has a population of around 10,000, has played host to Chris Coleman's squad for a […]

Libreville (AFP) – Gabon have sacked their manager Jorge Costa six months before hosting the Africa Cup of Nations. The Portuguese coach, hired in July 2014, was let go following the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw, with Gabon in a tricky group alongside Ivory Coast, Mali and Morocco. Costa was the best paid manager of […]

Paris (AFP) – A British supporter of Iceland's team in the Euro 2016 football championship was stabbed in Paris, police said Monday, adding that the injury was not life-threatening. The assault occurred late Sunday near the Gare du Nord rail station, police said, adding that the victim underwent surgery at a Paris hospital and the […]

Marcoussis (France) (AFP) – Centre-back Pepe missed Portugal training on Monday for the Euro 2016 semi-final against Wales because of muscle pain, the Portuguese Football Federation said. But pulling the Real Madrid player out of the session was just a precautionary measure ahead of Wednesday's match in Lyon, the federation said. The 33-year-old was the […]

Wednesday’s match between France and Iceland in Saint-Denis, the fourth and last quarterfinal of Euro 2016, figured to set up very nicely for an Iceland team that had already captured the hearts of the watching soccer world. Iceland’s qualities – organized, hard working, dangerous in isolated moments – were well established. Somehow able to name an […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho officially started work as Manchester United manager at the club's Carrington training base on Monday. The Portuguese travelled to Manchester by train on Sunday night and posted a video on Instagram showing his arrival at Picadilly station, saying: "I am here/UNITED we can". He arrived at Carrington with […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – Gareth Bale trained apart from his team-mates on Monday as Wales continued preparations for their Euro 2016 semi-final against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal on Wednesday. While Bale's team-mates warmed up on the pitch at the team's training base in Dinard, northwest France, the Real Madrid star and midfielder David Edwards were put […]

Evian (France) (AFP) – Germany coach Joachim Loew is relishing facing hosts France in Thursday's Euro 2016 semi-final despite a mounting injury list. "It's great that there's a game like this. I love playing knockout games against teams of this calibre," said Loew in Evian on Monday. Loew's cause for optimism over the Marseille semi-final […]

Brussels (AFP) – The EU on Monday ordered seven Spanish football clubs including Barcelona and Real Madrid to pay back millions of euros (dollars) in illegal state aid. The European Commission said Spanish government support, including tax breaks and overpriced land transfers, gave the clubs an "unfair advantage" over others. The other clubs were Valencia, Athletic […]

Paris (AFP) – Gylfi Sigurdsson has promised Iceland will not be content to bask in the glory of their Euro 2016 heroics having had a taste of the highs and lows of tournament football. The smallest nation ever to take part in the European championship with a population of just 330,000 stunned England to reach […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – Wales manager Chris Coleman would "never, ever" consider taking charge of beleaguered rivals England but as he plots the downfall of Portugal in Wednesday's Euro 2016 semi-final he said a move abroad is possible. Having guided Wales to a first ever major tournament semi-final by masterminding a stirring 3-1 win over […]

Lyon (AFP) – The two most expensive players in football go head-to-head on Wednesday when Cristiano Ronaldo leads Portugal against club teammate Gareth Bale and Wales in a Euro 2016 semi-final which could lead one to unprecendented glory. Bale is junior partner when the two line up for Real Madrid, despite winning two Champions Leagues […]

Paris (AFP) – Olivier Giroud scored twice to take man-of-the-match honours as France marched into the Euro 2016 semi-finals but even after a 5-2 hammering, Iceland departed with pride having struck new underdog blows. France now play Germany aiming to settle old scores from past World Cups and Euros. And having home advantage and an […]

Paris (AFP) – Olivier Giroud scored twice to take man-of-the-match honours as France thrashed Iceland 5-2 on Sunday to set up a Euro 2016 semi-final clash against world champions Germany. Giroud fired France ahead after just 12 minutes at a rain-drenched Stade de France and got his second after the break as the hosts put […]